Transfer of Power
by Plantress
Summary: Set Pre Lost Canvas After the Holy War was over, Hakurei was chosen as Pope. This was a situation he was not pleased with and one that he desperately wanted out of...


A/N: This was sparked when I was reading the chapters of Lost Canvas that had Shion's flashbacks in them. One of the images that stuck out in my mind was the one of a younger Hakurei looking as if he's heroically leading the rest of the Saints into battle. That made me wonder why, if Hakurei was the leader, Sage ended up as the Pope. This was my kind of strange answer.

It had been a year since the Holy War had ended. A solid year of rebuilding Sanctuary from the ravages of Hades. That rebuilding had been costly, both in terms of material and manpower. Sanctuary itself was not the financial richest, so heavy priorities had been set. Now that repair of the twelve zodiac temple had almost been completed, they had to decided which area of Sanctuary needed the most help. That was what this meeting was suppose to decide.

"…..so although we can use the trainees for basic physical labor as we have been, we will still need the stone masons and carvers for some of the more delicate procedures," the current speaker was a Bronze Saint, one of the young men who had been given his Cloth in an effort to boost Sanctuary's fighting force after the devastation it had suffered during the Holy War. He was still getting used to his Cloth and the new-found responsibilities that came with it. Particularly when one of those duties was to deliver reports in a meeting like this. One that happened to include both the Pope and Cancer Sage, the only remaining Gold Saint in Sanctuary. "I, ah, advise that we first concentrate on those projects we need those skilled labors for so we can get those out of the way first." He looked nervously as the Pope for confirmation, as did the rest of those seated around the long table. But there was only silence from the helmed figure who had his chin resting on folded hands.

"Lord Pope?" the Saint ventured hesitantly. There was no reply from the still figure at the head of the table. People began to fidget and whisper amongst themselves. Then, amidst the buzzing there came a soft whistling sound. Everyone froze, growing silent and slowly turning to look at the Pope. From the helmet there again came the faint sound of a light snore.

"Umm…." the speaker froze unsure of what to do next. There was a flurry of whispers around the table.

"..Continue," Cancer Sage growled. The Gold Saint was glaring at the Pope, his hands gripping the edge of the wooden table. The speaking Saint didn't feel like arguing with an angry Gold Saint.

"Th..the first things I think we should fix are the more public buildings like…" Pope Hakurei shifted in his sleep and mumbled something. Everyone froze again, and the Saint could have sworn that he saw a vein throbbing in Cancer Sage's forehead as the Gold Saint gripped the table in a white knuckled grip. "Buildings like the huts or the public storage," the Saint was speaking faster without noticing it. Almost as if reacting to that the Pope suddenly have a loud snort, then an even louder snore that seemed to echo though out the room.

The sharp crack that came after that was the sound of the wood under Cancer Sage's fingers snapping.

"I..ah..," the Saint finished his report as quickly as he could.

"Do it." Cancer Sage growled as he stood. "This meeting is adjourned."

The Saint, and the other members of the council, were glad for any voice of authority. They all muttered their ascent then quickly left the room.

Once he was sure they were gone, Sage slowly walked around to behind his brother. Then he delivered an open-handed slap to the back of the helmet.

"Wake-up brother!" he snarled.

"Wha..?" Hakurei shot up, helmet slightly askew. "The proposal is…acc..eptable.." he slowly trailed off as he managed to get his helmet straighten up. "…The meeting's over?"

"Yes," Sage said flatly.

"..Finally! I though I was going to die of boredom for a while there!"

"Finally? Finally!?" Sage slammed his hands down on the table. "You slept though the whole thing!"

"Not the whole thing!" Hakurie protested. "I was awake until the report about the quality of rock got so boring I couldn't keep my eyes open."

"You still fell asleep!" Sage shouted. "You're the Pope! You can't just drop off like that.."

"And why not?" Hakurei took off the helmet and glared at him. "Even if I was awake, what good would it do? I know anything about building or stones! They're better off speaking with the builders for that! The only thing I seem to do in these meetings is smile, nod, and agree. Anyone could do that!"

"Maybe you would actually get something if you would actually do your duty!" Sage brought his fist down on his table. "You have been Pope for a year, brother! Learn some responsibility!"

"I am responsible!"

"Then why do you keep falling asleep at meetings? Missing speeches? We went looking for you once when you were late for a meeting and you were _found in the bath with a servant!_"

"..Well, it's a very nice bath. You should try it sometime. It might loosen you up," Hakurei grinned.

"This isn't a laughing matter!" Sage growled. "Are you even listening to yourself? You are the Pope! You can't afford to act like this! "

"I know, I know," Hakurei said and sighed. "I'm suppose to be setting a good example for the rest of Sanctuary. Be a figurehead for everything…but that's all that I've been lately Sage! I haven't actually had a chance to do anything since I took up this role! All I do is nod, smile and sign things. I'm a glorified _clerk!_"

"It's work that needs to be done!" Sage snapped back. "Whether you like it or not, you are a symbol of Sanctuary."

"A symbol that spends all it's time locked up in an office! I'm going crazy Sage! I haven't been able to do feel useful in months!"

"You have been useful," Sage said. "You managed to get that delegation from the town to listen to us.."

"I only said the obvious and the leader was to much of a coward to continue his whining with the Pope saying it to his face! Anyone with enough rank could have done the same thing. It wasn't about diplomacy or tact…you know I don't have the patience for those kind of delicate situations! I'm more suited to action not fancy tea parties! "

"You would be if you would just stop, think and learn to think of the consequences of your actions!" Sage replied. "You need to learn to be more calm, collected.."

"I need to learn to be more like you, in other words!" Hakurei stood, shoving his chair backwards roughly as he walked around to the other side of the table. "You like that kind of thing Sage! You're good at it, everyone knows that! You're the one that should be Pope!"

"No, I shouldn't. You were the one that was chosen, remember?" Sage said. "You're the one that everyone looks to as leader!"

"Only because I was the one that rallied them during the war!" Hakurei turned towards his brother, helmet gripped in his hands. "But we aren't in a war Sage. I'm a warrior, nothing else. I'm not suited to…to..playing glorified babysitter to Sanctuary. I'm not the person you go to when you need someone to figure out the percent of tithe that needs to be taken from the town! I feel like I'm being suffocated inside those heavy robes all day! I'm slowly loosing track of who I am!"

"Would you stop whining?" Sage demanded. "You sound like a petulant child who's just received his Cloth! You are the Pope! This is what you have to do!"

"But I am not good at this!" Hakurei threw the helmet down with a crash. It skidded across the table, Sage barely managing to catch it before it went off the table entirely.

"Brother!" the Cancer Saint barked. "Watch what you're doing!"

"All I seem to be doing is watching what I'm doing! Be it words or actions everyone expects something different from me! I'm not built for this Sage! I'm a warrior, not a diplomat! You know as well as I do that I shouldn't have been given this position. I can should orders on a battlefield and give a stirring speech, but when it comes to the organization part of things you were always better at it."

"Regardless, you are the one that was chosen, brother," Sage said. "You must learn to be better at the things you are lacking."

"There isn't any time for me to learn! I don't mind making mistakes, but now when I'm not the only person that would be suffering for it. Sage, we both know that everyone only chose me because I was the more visible of the two of us. I was the flashier one, the one that stood out more. If there hadn't been so few of us left, if everyone hadn't been so in shock there were willing to look to anything familiar….then you would be in these robes, not me."

"But you are the one wearing the robes," Sage said firmly. "You need to learn to live up to them."

"..Why? You would be a much better Pope than me. It's not like anyone would notice if we switched places. We look alike and the helmet would confuse things even more!"

"I am not going to deceive all of Sanctuary!" Sage replied, shocked flickering across his face.

"But…what if it wasn't a deception? What if you really were pope?" Hakurei said slowly a smile spreading across his face. It was the sort of smile that Sage had come to dread during their childhood since it always lead to some sort of mischief.

"But I am not the Pope…" Sage started to say.

"You are now!" Hakurei said cheerfully as he stripped off the official robes he was wearing, revealing the loose pants and shirt he was wearing other them. Sage wondered irritably what he had been planning on doing after the meeting then yelped as Hakurei suddenly threw the robes toward him. He barely managed to catch them without dropping the helmet, then staggered as the heavy ornamentally jewelry the Pope wore thumped down on top of the cloth.

"Wh..what are you doing?" Sage sputtered. Hakurei chuckled then straightened up to his full height, his face taking on serious expression.

"As my last act as Pope," he intoned in the same voice he used for official speeches, "I hereby declare Cancer Sage as my successor!"

"What?" Sage repeated in shock, "Brother, you can't do that!"

"I believe I just did," his brother said cheerfully as he edged out the door. "Or do you wish to argue with a direct order from the Pope?"

"B..but.." before Sage could complete his thought, Hakurei gave one last smile, turned and ran. "Brother!"

Sage dashed to the door, trying not to drop the armful of Cloth. He reached the hallway just in time to see Hakurei disappear around a corner. "Brother! Brother, get back here! HAKUREI!"

But the only answer to his shouts was far off laughter.


End file.
